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Rockland Residents Enthusiastically Support Proposed Downeaster Expansion to the MidCoast

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Written by TRN WebmasterTRN Webmaster

Published: 25 January 201825 January 2018

NNEPRA's Executive Director Patricia Quinn briefed Rockland residents and officials last night about the proposed seasonal expansion of Downeaster service to several mid-coast towns and cities. Bath, Wiscasset, Newcastle/Damariscotta and Rockland would be added to the route.

Those in attendance, more than 70, listened, asked questions and learned that the service could run from July to Labor Day in September with direct trains to and from Boston on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

29th TrainRiders/NE Annual Meeting

Our Annual Meeting was held at the Holiday Inn By The Bay in Portland on December 15th, 2017. We heard presentations from NNEPRA Executive Director Patricia Quinn (The Downeaster continues to grow in ridership and revenue.), MDOT Commissioner David Bernhardt (Maine is forging new alliances with rail companies and states.), President David Fink of PanAm Railroad (We are committed to supporting on-time Downeaster service.), Gene Skoropowski, Former Sr. VP of All Aboard Florida (Florida's first privately-funded passenger rail service will begin operation this month), Chairman Wayne Davis and Executive Director George O'Keefe.

Ms. Quinn regularly updates our membership on the Downeaster 'numbers.' They were impressive and her presentation can be seen here.

Gene Skoropowski proudly presented an overview of Floridays private passenger rail system now coming online - Brightline. You can view his presentation here.

In this year's video, the city manager of Bath, town managers of Wiscasset, Newcastle, Damariscotta and the executive director of Rockland Main Street spoke of what the proposed seasonal weekend service from Brunswick to Rockland would mean to their communities and the travelers on board the Downeaster.

Adjournment was at 3:30 pm. Many of those in attendance then boarded the Downeaster (on us) for a trip to Freeport to see L.L. Bean's spectacular Christmas display and program. Afterwards, they took the 5:25 pm in Freeport and continued on to points south. It was a train-friendly event.

UPDATE: NNEPRA Proposes Summer Weekend Rockland Service from May through October!

Annual Meetings are always important because the NNEPRA staff summarizes FY2017 Downeaster performance and future goals. The fiscal year ended with 511,422 riders (8% over FY2016), revenue of $8,620,119 (a new record) and passenger miles of 40,742,792 (7% over FY2016)!

One announcement at this year's meeting took many by surprise as proposed Downeaster service to Rockland was unveiled. That means that starting as early as next May, after analysis of the route and public meetings, riders boarding the Downeaster in Boston would be able to add Bath, Wiscasset, Newcastle or Rockland to their weekend tickets. The seasonal service would end in October.

UPDATE: At NNEPRA's November Board Meeting, the board approved the expenditure of funds by Executive Director Patricia Quinn to proceed with route analysis using an Amtrak train/crew as well as utilizing the Geometry Car to determine the quality of the tracks. It is hoped that at the late January board meeting, a decision as to whether to proceed with the proposed service can be made.

There was universal approval of the decision by those present. As one attendee said, "Make it happen!"

We interviewed NNEPRA Chairman John Melrose and TrainRiders/NE Chairman Wayne Davis about the decision.

The Annual Report, which was passed out at the meeting, is filled with interesting statistics and eye-catching graphics. It can be read here.

NNEPRA September, 2017, Board Meeting

The NNEPRA Board held their regular monthly meeting today with Executive Director Patricia Quinn reporting results for July and August.

The Downeaster had its two highest months of ridership in its 15-year history in July and August of 2017.

Ridership in July 2017 of 57,652 was **12%** above July 2016 (51,402) and **15%** above NNEPRA's budget target.

Ridership in August 2017 of 57,306 was **7%** above August 2016 (53,627) and **5%** above NNEPRAs budget target.

NNEPRA had their first ever "million dollar month"(s) for revenue in both July ($1,042,712) and August ($1,052,422).

Customer satisfaction remained very high at 90% with the Downeaster conductors scoring five points on average (93%) ahead of their fellow Amtrak peers (88%) for friendliness and helpfulness.

Even more impressive, likely the result of a schedule change allowing for improved fan ridership to the Red Sox on late game nights, the Downeaster cafe car recovered 97%+ of its costs. A phenomenal double-digit improvement over previous performance which had averaged about 80% for many years prior.

The outstanding performance for the first two months of the fiscal year thus far means that the overall cost recovery for the entire Downeaster service year to date is 67%.

The Board was extremely pleased with the results and looking forward to hearing the report for September at its next regular meeting. At the time of the meeting, September was looking "very strong".

George O'Keefe, TrainRiders/NE Executive Director

Local Reporter Rides the Dome Car

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Written by TRN WebmasterTRN Webmaster

Published: 01 September 201701 September 2017

Reporter Donna Buttarazzi of the York County Coast Star boarded the Dome Car this past week in Wells to sample ridership opinion and experience the ride herself. In addition, she met TRN's Wayne Davis as he was briefing the riders on the car's history.